The Utah legislature has approved plans for construction of a $17 million building on the Utah State University campus to house all of the school's language programs.

The university says the Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center will be constructed on the Logan campus just south of the Ray B. West Building, home to the Department of English, and across the road from Old Main.

“The Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center will bring together in one location all language-focused programs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences,” says College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Joseph P. Ward.

The Legislature has allocated $14.5 million for the facility; an additional $2.5 million is being provided by private donors.

Foreign-language programs are part of the Department of Languages, Philosophy and Communications Studies, but actual language classes take place in four different buildings.

The $17 million budget is “modest but still meets critical needs,” said Ward.

Among the center’s assets will be expanded conversational, teaching and computer writing labs, as well as centralized student advising, study and tutoring. The college’s Intensive English Language Institute, a program that supports students and faculty members who seek to improve their academic skills, will also be relocated there, says Ward.